Parental Substitute / Fan Works

Crossovers

• A Loud Among Demons Millie and Moxxie are slowly becoming this to Lincoln. While Moxxie is slow to realize he is starting to think of Lincoln as his son, Millie has zero problems explicitly referring to herself as the human boy's mother. Eventually, Lincoln calls the two "Mom and Dad", much to Millie's joy.
• Alien/Species Crossover: Return to LV-426: It's noted several times that Colonel Doctor Patricia Boone, head of the I5E Project, is the closest thing Lise has to a mother, and she's the closest thing Boone has to a daughter. Boone takes Lise's health and well-being very seriously.
• "Avengers: Darkness in Kingdom Hearts" essentially sees Peter Parker and Wanda Maximoff become this for a young Sora (Kingdom Hearts) when a temporal disruption gives Xenohart a chance to start his campaign of conquest early, forcing the heroes to protect Sora as they travel through various dimensions.
• In A New Problem Thaz looks after Horace, Roba, and Alfe after the three were kicked out of the orphanage (Horace and Roba for being too old and Alfe for being annoying).
• Jubei in BlazBlue Alternative: Remnant is basically Ragna's father in all but blood, having taken him in from an early age and trained him how to fight. During Ragna's POV's in Chapter 56, it's made clear that he views Jubei as a father-figure and has a high amount of respect for him, even admitting as much to Luna. Likewise, Jubei also functions as this to Luna and Sena as well.
• Blue Moon (The Twilight Saga and Buffy the Vampire Slayer): Giles recalls his own bond with Buffy when reading about Francesca, a vampire slayer who was captured, turned and killed by the Volturi, as the diaries of Francesca's Watcher, Sir Richard Gladwin, make it clear that he had a similar relationship with Francesca to Giles's bond with Buffy. Francesca clearly reciprocated this affection; even after she faked her death to escape the Volturi, when she learned that Sir Gladwin was dying, she went to see him despite the risk so that she could assure him that she had survived and was happy.
• The Bridge (MLP) (My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and multiple kaiju series): This happens on both sides of the crossover.
  • Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were raised by the Equestrian Founders, seeing Starswirl the Bearded especially as a father figure. Part of the reason Luna grew jealous of Celestia and turned into Nightmare Moon was she felt, incorrectly, that she was The Un Favourite in Starswirl's eyes.
  • Aria Blaze's mother, Hymnia, was one for her cousins Adagio Dazzle and Sonata Dusk. Their mother, Hymnia's sister, died shortly after Sonata was born and Adagio was still a baby. Hymnia was the one who taught them their song magic before she too passed away years later in a storm.
  • Dr. Azusa Aoki, formally Azusa Gojo, was this for Godzilla Junior's early years due to him imprinting on her when he hatched. When it became apparent Junior was sapient, the two saw each other as mother and son even after Junior grew to his titanic adult size. It's heavily implied her care is why he grew up wanting to protect others and turned him into Terra's Big Good.
• Children of an Elder God (Neon Genesis Evangelion and Godzilla):
  • When Shinji arrived to Tokyo-3 Misato took him in and took care of him.
  • After her parents died, Asuka was adopted by Dr. Himmelfarb. Her foster mother took care of her and mentored her for many years. Later Kaji became her guardian, and when the war began, Misato took her in together with Shinji.
  • After the end of the war Shinji, Asuka, Touji and Hikari have lost their respective families. Misato insists on becoming the surrogate mother of the four teenagers. When they warn her that other people will give her grief about it, Misato retorts she does not give a damn.
• Child of the Storm (Harry Potter, Marvel Cinematic Universe and others): Several examples:
  • Wanda Maximoff serves as this to Harry — unsurprising, given that she's his godmother and his actual mother is dead. Well, actually, Ascended to a Higher Plane of Existence. Pepper Potts, in addition to being Team Mom to the Avengers in general, was also one to Harry before Wanda showed up, and continues (to a lesser extent) to be one, given that Wanda isn't always around due to her job.
  • Carol is noted to be consistently searching for a better father-figure, since her own father is an emotionally abusive Stay in the Kitchen type, which is why she latches on to her Cool Uncle, Jack O'Neill, and later, Steve Rogers, her great-grandfather. The former reciprocates when he can, but he's rarely around New York, while the latter is initially deeply shocked to find out that they're related (the fact that he's less than twice her age, in terms of lived experience, doesn't help). Once he processes it, though, he takes up the mantle with determination and kindness, encouraging her in her dreams, supporting her when she's upset (in one case, by providing a 'Thor-sized' bucket of Rocky Road ice-cream), and playing Papa Wolf. As in, at one point in the sequel, she and Harry get kidnapped by a Renegade Russian group. His response is to calmly consider this, tell Thor to get his temper under control, then literally kick down the doors of the Kremlin to demand them back. In chapter 60, he finally completely accepts his role as her dad, rather than simply "acting the part".
  • Though it's not stated outright, it's heavily implied that Sean Cassidy also serves as this for Warren Worthington/Archangel, given the latter's abusive father.
• Code Prime (Code Geass and Transformers): While subtle at first, later chapters in the story indicate that Lelouch is starting to view Optimus as a father figure since his real father is a...less than stellar parent. Mao's remarks in Chapter 19 outright confirms that Lelouch views Optimus as his surrogate father.
• Dangan-Pinguino: Chisa winds up serving as this to Chiaki, with their interactions feeling much closer to a mother-daughter relationship, rather than of a teacher and a student. Lampshaded by Dastardly, who practically pukes from seeing them together like that.
• A Discordant Note (Harry Potter and A Song of Ice and Fire): Played straight and downplayed. Harry is dead and killing a god for most of the time Tyrion Lannister is being fostered at Dol Guldur, but he still finds himself respecting the sorcerer more than his own father. Meanwhile, Harry's wife Luna very much acts the part of a doting mother for Tyrion (as well as pretty much everyone younger than her in Angmar).
• The Dragon and the Butterfly: Upon learning that Hiccup's father disowned him, Julieta and Agustin become this to him, to the point that he actually refers to them as his mother and father. Later made official when he becomes their son-in-law.
• The Dragon That Will Pierce the Heavens (One Piece and Fairy Tail): Protagonist Hikari becomes this for Tony-Tony Chopper starting in the Drum Island Arc, being a maternal figure for the young reindeer and proving extremely protective of him.
• Equestria Girls: Friendship Souls (Bleach and My Little Pony: Equestria Girls):
  • Deconstructed with Fluttershy and Posey. Due to the uncanny resemblance to her mother, both in looks and personality and literally being her in previous life Posey can't help but seek love and approval from Fluttershy, desperately calling her mother. Fluttershy, while sympathetic, sees it as an unhealthy obsession and makes it clear that she's not and never will be her mother. Still, she says she'll gladly call her a friend and help her workout her issues.
  • Played straight with Tempest. It's made clear that Tempest Shadow is Yin and Yang's adopted mother in all but name.
• Fairy May Cry (Devil May Cry and Fairy Tail):
  • Wendy comes to see Modeus as a father figure, with the latter training Wendy in combat and becoming protective of her if she is threatened.
  • Makarov acts as this to many of the guild members, seeing them as his children. Notably, Dante sees him as a second father, and Lady sees him as one as well, confiding in him about her past with Arkham.
• Fallout: Equestria (My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and Fallout): Watcher explains that when the war began, Princess Celestia worked hard to keep the Mane Six out of danger because she saw them as her children. After a massacre, Celestia stepped down and her sister Princess Luna took over. Luna saw the Mane Six as equals or even saviors, and recruited them to win the war however possible. That's when everything started going really bad.
• Fate/Starry Night (Fate/stay night and Fate/Grand Order): Ritsuka acts as Jack's "Mommy", trying to teach her right from wrong and limit her murderous impulses to monsters and Servants. He also cooks for her, praises her when she does well, and gives her all the affection she and the many other spirits that make up her form lacked in life.
• In Frozen Turtles, while nobody ever outright says it, after the Turtles and their allies travel to Arendelle, Splinter becomes very close to the Arendelle royal family, such as giving Elsa a few lessons in meditation to improve her control of her abilities and offering Kristoff advice on his plans to propose. In Into the Unknown, after Splinter's death, Elsa and Anna each compare their grief over his loss to the way they felt when their own father died, privately acknowledging that they saw Splinter as a new father figure, even creating a memorial for him beside the grave of their own parents.
• Hail to the King (Thuktun Flishithy) (Neon Genesis Evangelion and Godzilla): When Shinji was unable to synch with Unit 01 Misato decided to take him in, and she also became Asuka's guardian when she arrived to Tokyo-3.
• If Wishes Were Ponies: Seeing as how this is a Harry Potter/MLP crossover, there are numerous examples:
  • Twilight has raised Spike as her son (although he still acts like her assistant most of the time), and he considers her his mother. Shortly after Harry arrives in Ponyville, Twilight becomes his legal guardian and treats him with more kindness than the Dursleys ever did.
  • The CMC (as in canon) each have a family member that acts like their parent most of the time: Apple Bloom with Applejack, Sweetie Belle with Rarity, and Scootaloo with both her aunts and Rainbow Dash.
  • In the Wizarding world, Dumbledore is legally recognized as this to Harry, and he tries to make the Weaselys this trope for the boy. For numerous reasons, it doesn't happen, and he quickly learns that, outside of the wizarding world, he has little to no say in what happens to Harry (royally messing up his political plans).
  • Once Sirius (through the help of Dumbledore and Twilight) is cleared of the charges against him, he starts taking a more active role in Harry's upbringing (although he generally acts more like an older brother than a father-figure).
• "Kim Possible: The Next Generation" depicts Kim Possible as a new ensign on the Enterprise-D (Star Trek: The Next Generation), with her best friend Ron visiting the ship after she wins a contest. Kim and Ron’s mutual support of each other makes such a positive impression that Kim becomes closer friends with the senior staff and Ron is appointed the new ship’s chef; when Kim becomes the new captain of the Enterprise-E over a decade later, it’s observed that Ron has come to see Picard as a father figure given Ron's distant relationship with his own father.
• Last Child of Krypton (Neon Genesis Evangelion and Superman): When Shinji told Misato he had to go back to his uncle’s house again without ever talking with his father she insisted he could stay with her. Shortly after she also took Asuka in when she arrived. Misato was the first adult wanted to take care of both kids in one decade. A while later, when Shinji decides to fight Gendo head-on, she joins him despite of Kaji's misgivings because she can not abandon her kids.
• Lighting Candles: A tragic example. Tadashi lost his parents when he was a little kid (roughly eleven years before the events of Big Hero 6), and as such spent most of his life without a father figure. So, when he gets to college, he ends up seeing Professor Callaghan as this trope, as the man always encourages him to do his best, helps him out during his worst moments, and gives a lot of useful advice. So you can imagine Tadashi's horror when he learns who started the fire...
• A Man of Iron (A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones and the Marvel Universe): The fic plays with the trope — Antony and his wife Pepper have basically adopted Jon Snow, but they consider themselves more as a Cool Uncle and Cool Big Sis to the youth. Nonetheless, their behaviour is very much supportive and loving parenting when you look at it.
  • Played more straight with Tyrion Lannister who finds himself saddled with Samwell Tarly as a squire and cheerfully decides the boy will do as a substitute son.
• Mike Pines: Mike ends up latching on to Stan as a father figure due to his...less than stellar actual father. Stan, although bemused that Mike looks up to someone like him, is touched.
• Aliens/Once Upon a Time fanfic Monsters: Regina and Emma quickly become attached to the orphaned Henry when they find him, with them, especially Regina, becoming like his new parents. By the end of the story, he even calls them mom and Ma.
• Neon Genesis Evangelion Senshi No Michi (Neon Genesis Evangelion and Street Fighter): Gouken took care of Shinji and Asuka after they were abandoned. As a result of being raised and trained in martial arts by a caring mentor in a peaceful, quiet environment, both children became more emotionally stable, balanced and focused than their canon selves; to the point that Asuka does not even want to think where she might be without his teachings.
• The Night Unfurls (Bloodborne and Kuroinu: Kedakaki Seijo wa Hakudaku ni Somaru):
  • While Kyril sees Evetta as a very close companion rather than a mother figure, she did take care of him when he was transformed into an infant great one.
  • It is implied that Sanakan and Hugh see their mentor Kyril a father figure, as he gives them a home, food, and strength, despite having every right to turn them away. A bartender even asks him if the two kids are his.
    Varo: And these two kids? Are they yours?
    Kyril: They are my... squires.
  • Soren's foster mother, Sister Ramiel, serves as this to the children under her care in the old orphanage that serves as his childhood home.
  • Olga became a surrogate mother to Chloe after saving the half-elf from slavery and raising her by herself in the Black Fortress. As Chloe grew up into the loyal vassal Olga wanted and needed her to be, the two of them would later become each other's Living Emotional Crutch.
• A Nightmare on Steven Street (Steven Universe and A Nightmare on Elm Street): In the prequel, little Freddy Krueger comes to view Rose Quartz as this.
• Once Upon a Supernatural Time (Once Upon a Time and Supernatural): Dean Winchester swiftly ends up becoming this to Henry Mills as his relationship with Emma develops, to the extent that, after Henry meets his real father for the first time, Henry explicitly states that he wishes that Dean was his father.
• Peter Parker Needs A Hug: This Spider-Man crossover with Batman: Wayne Family Adventures has the web-slinger arrive in Gotham (because of a Trapped in Another World scenario). It takes a while, but eventually he opens up to the Bats and Batman becomes his mentor/father figure. Considering how the fic starts shortly after the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, the Bat family was exactly what the poor kid needed.
• Rise of the Dragon Child (Harry Potter and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim) has Jarl Balgruuf offering a home to thirteen-year-old orphan Harry and ensuring his safety, Dragonborness and prophecy be damned. Harry very much appreciates, calling Balgruuf daddy in his sleep.
• SAPR (My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and RWBY): In addition to Klein Sieben from canon, Weiss also was raised by her maid Laberna Seacole. Mrs. Seacole, as it turns out, is a raccoon faunus, and when the White Fang became exceedingly violent Jacques fired her. She and her family were forced into poverty after that, and the stress and poor living conditions aged her by decades and gave her numerous health problems.
• Sora and the Princesses of Power (Kingdom Hearts and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power): Upon meeting Mermista, Goofy (of all people!) immediately starts to act like a parental figure towards her after figuring out that a proper parent is something Mermista desperately needs.
• Shinji And Warhammer 40 K (Neon Genesis Evangelion and Warhammer 40,000): After Shinji's arrival to NERV Misato took her in, even if she thought he was a weird kid. As things get crazier and crazier she also becomes Asuka's guardian, and Rei's for a while when Shinji was away.
• Strange Potter sees Doctor Strange (Marvel Cinematic Universe) take the infant Harry Potter from Privet Drive after Dumbledore has left him there and subsequently return him to Sirius Black after confirming Sirius's innocence. While Sirius and Remus are Harry's primary guardians, after the three relocate to America so that Wanda Maximoff can help teach Harry how to control his enhanced abilities and Bruce Banner and Tony Stark can work on a treatment for Remus, Harry also mistakes Natasha Romanoff for Lily as they have the same hair colour, to the extent that Natasha is able to calm Harry down when he has nightmares and accepts him calling her 'Mum'. By the time Harry has started at Hogwarts, Natasha is his "official" stepmother, as she's married Sirius.
• Superwomen of Eva 2: Lone Heir of Krypton (Neon Genesis Evangelion and Superman): When Asuka arrived to Japan she thought Misato was replacing Shinji with her, but to her surprise Misato took him and her in. Formerly her guardian had been Kaji.
• Thousand Shinji (Neon Genesis Evangelion and Warhammer 40,000): When Misato decided to take Shinji in, he initially resisted. However, he quickly — and reluctantly — bonded with her because she was the only person had treated him like a son after his mother's death. Later he tells Asuka — who had also become Misato's ward — that despite all her human flaws Misato is the mother he missed during his childhood.

Anime and Manga

• A.S.U.L (One Piece): Gordon, having already adopted Uta, also becomes a father figure for Ace, Sabo, and Luffy when the former two move to Goa.
• Common Sense (Pokémon: The Series): It's revealed that Misty's parents abandoned the Gym when she was younger. With her older sisters being too busy and/or self-absorbed to look after her, the Pokémon of the Gym wound up looking after her with Staryu and Goldeen playing with her and teaching her to swim while Starmie was the voice of reason growing up.
• Dragon Ball Z Abridged (Dragon Ball Z) plays with this, regarding the relationship between Piccolo and Gohan. It's downplayed in the beginning, as Piccolo's initial motive for kidnapping and training Gohan was for his own plans to take over the world. It actually moves closer to the source material after Namek, as both Goku and Piccolo train Gohan for the Androids. Both Gohan and Piccolo resent Goku's inattentiveness as a father. But Piccolo having this role seems to be closer to being an outward perception than a reality. And when Cell lampshades it in Episode 60, Piccolo and Goku both bristle at the idea, as the creators' attempt to kill the joke in the end.
• Escape From The Hokage's Hat (Naruto): Tsunade to all three of her students (Shizune, Naruto and Hinata). While Shizune is a fairly well adjusted adult, she spends most of her time helping Naruto and Hinata with their own personal issues.
• For Better or For Worse (One Piece) (One Piece): Thanks to being Corazon being Spared by the Adaptation, he serves as this not only to Law, but also to Luffy, Ace, Sabo, and Bepo. Ironically, he's in complete denial over it, while everyone else (including the boys themselves) have acknowledged it.
• Hogyoku ex Machina (Bleach): Isshin feels this way about Ichigo's relationship with Zangetsu. He asks Yoruichi to describe Zangetsu to him leading to this.
  "The soul of a fifteen-year-old formed itself a partner according to its own needs and desires, Yoruichi. And when it did…" his voice broke a little "… when it made the being it wanted to fight with for its entire existence… it made a middle-aged man. A teacher. A mentor. Stern and unrelenting, and so damn proud of him it hurts to watch." Everything Isshin had never shown Ichigo he could be. Yoruichi began to understand.
• It Takes a Village (Bleach): The Visored become this for Orihime after Hollows killed her family. Kensei in particular is her most prominent father figure.
• I Ain't a Doll, This Ain't a Dollhouse: Following her father's murder and the Trauma Conga Line, both brougut by her abusive ex-fiancé Dio, Johanna Joestar would find a new father figure through old Joseph Joestar, who ironically is her future grandson.
• Kiryuuin Chronicles (Kill la Kill): Rei plays this role with Satsuki, Ryuuko, and Nui and has been doing so since birth, raising them more than their parents do. Of course, she does have a reason to be, considering how their parents are.
• Like a Mom to Me (Pokémon: The Series): Misty openly tells Delia Ketchum that she views her as a surrogate mother figure, given that her biological mother died when she was too little, and her father works abroad and rarely comes home, so she was mostly raised by her sisters.
• Marie D. Suesse and the Mystery New Pirate Age! (One Piece): Toward the end, it is revealed that a woman named Denise was this to Madelyn, taking her in, giving her a job, and through being tough but fair, helping to make her a better person, inspiring her so much that she gave Denise's name to her daughter as her middle name.
• Memories of an Angel (Angel Beats!): Otonashi meets a young Noda during the train accident that would end the former's life. After learning about the boy's abusive father, Otonashi wanted to adopt Noda so he and Kanade can give him a happier life. Even in the afterlife, Noda still had great admiration for the doctor-in-training. Unfortunately, Otonashi's death and Kanade's fall into grief afterwards prevent this from occurring.
• Obsession (Pokémon: The Series): Asaph is the mentor to Jirarudan and Veronica, and is more present in their lives than their real parents.
• Pareidolia (Naruto): The fusion of Naruto and Genkuro becomes the father figure for Tayuya in the alternate timeline. What makes it odd is that in the original timeline they had been lovers; Naruto worries for a bit whether he'll be able to keep the two separate.
• Pokémon: The Great Adventure (Pokémon: The Series): Ash gets one in the shape of Silver, a mysterious tailed man with silver hairs that raises him like his own son and teaches him everything he knows. Even after learning the truth about his legacy, the man is still the only one Ash calls "Father".
• The Tale of Nagato Uzumaki (Naruto): The (now adult) Ame Orphans become this to Naruto after his parents' deaths.
• Tales of Fairies (Fairy Tail): In these genderbend oneshots, Aquarius is one to Luca Heartfillia, taking the role of a surrogant mother after his real mother's death and his father becoming distant. She is responsible for training him to use self-defense with his whip, and often disapproves of the girls that come near her "precious boy" like Natsu.
• Team Dad Assemble! (Pokémon: The Series): Archie and Maxie have put aside their villainous ways, merged their teams, and become a couple, as well as surrogate fathers to Brendan and May, who now live with them. When May's father Norman skips out on their annual father-daughter picnic due to an important evaluation at the Petalburg Gym, leaving her crushed, Archie and Maxie decide to go with her to the event as honorary dads for the day to cheer her up.

Anime and Manga — Neon Genesis Evangelion

Neon Genesis Evangelion

• Advice and Trust: Misato is this to Shinji and Asuka. She takes care after them and even tries to encourage them to get together... having no idea that they hooked up with each other when she was not looking.
• The Child of Love: A while after Asuka got ditched by her father and step-mother Misato became her guardian, and later Kaji. When Shinji arrived on Tokyo-3, Misato became his guardian and then she took Asuka in again. Both Misato and Kaji are the only reliable adult role models both teenagers have, and the only people really looked after them after their families abandoned them.
• A Crown of Stars: Misato was Shinji and Asuka's guardian and caretaker during the Angel War, at the end of the which she got killed. During the story Daniel brought her back, and she dedicated herself to fight to rebuild the post-Third Impact world as a way to atone for neglecting her wards during the War. During a conversation with Asuka she admits she was the closest thing they had to a parent, she screwed, and she is awfully sorry about it.
• Doing It Right This Time: When Shinji and Asuka arrive to Tokyo-3, Misato takes them in... and shortly after, they insist that she take Rei in, too. When she asks Asuka what is going on, they explain that they were time travelers, and she had been her and Shinji's caretaker in the original timeline (and Rei did no longer want to be under Gendo's legal guardianship). After their explanations Misato agrees to be Rei's guardian, too.
• Evangelion 303: Ritsuko took care of Shinji for a short while when his father sent him away after his mother's death. However, Ritsuko seemed to be always with his father, and Shinji did not like her very much. When the story starts, he is twenty and he has been used to take care of himself for a long time.
• Ghosts of Evangelion: Misato took Shinji and Asuka in when they were teenagers, and helped them raise their daughter.
• HERZ: Misato has looked after Shinji and Asuka since they were young (although Asuka moved out after the battle of 2015) and even after so many years she sees and Rei as the children she never had.
• Higher Learning: Misato was Shinji and Asuka's surrogate guardian. During a heated arguemtn with other character she blurts out she cares more about her kids than about NERV or anything else.
• Neon Genesis Evangelion: Genocide: Misato is Shinji and Asuka's caretaker. Although she failed them in the past, she wants sincerely to take care of them and protect them, not matter what.
• Nobody Dies: Yui and Gendo sent Shinji away because several eldritch abominations on the basement wanted to eat him (don't ask). When they summoned him back, Misato became his guardian. She also became Asuka's caretaker when the Sohryu family arrived on Tokyo-3. After considering she had ruined her daughter's life utterly Kyoko thought it would be for the best if Misato adopted Asuka, but Misato talked her out of it.
• Once More With Feeling (Crazy-88):
  • After returning to the past Shinji hopes Misato becomes his guardian again. She does not disappoint. Later he says to the face of SEELE Misato was the only person had looked after him, unlike his so-called biological family.
  • Misato was also Asuka's guardian in Germany. Asuka felt she was the first person since her mother's death had genuinely cared about her. Later, when she nearly died while she was fighting into a volcano, Asuka felt betrayed because Misato seemed more concerned about destroying the enemy than about her safety, but Misato acknowledged she had acted wrongly, explained her actions, apologized and reassured her than she cared about her and Shinji.
• The One I Love Is...: Misato took Shinji and Asuka in when they were summoned to Tokyo-3. Shinji also looks up to Kaji and often goes to him for help, advice or counseling. Several times He has wished that Kaji was his real father.
• RE-TAKE: Misato to Shinji and Asuka, even though Asuka left Japan at the end of the history. She took care of them and even encouraged Shinji to be happy.
• Scar Tissue: After Third Impact Misato returned to the real world because her wards Shinji and Asuka needed her. As far as she is concerned, they are now her children, not their biological mothers'.
• The Second Try: Misato had been Asuka's caretaker in Germany and later Kaji replaced her. Later Misato was both Shinji and Asuka's guardian. In the After the End episodes Asuka tells Shinji how her guardians had constantly changed back in her homeland.
  "After my mother died, I was practically raised by NERV. Despite living with them, my father never really cared much about me, and my stepmother was 'almost afraid of me', as she said it. So I was mostly in custody by someone from NERV; send from one guardian to another. But those were the same; only when I got good grades or even more so when I was good in training, I got praise. Even Misato wasn't much better..."
  "Misato?"
  "Yes, don't you remember? She had been my guardian awhile once before. Looking back, I'd say she most likely still had her own problems dwelling on her mind, but I guess it were those differences between her behavior then and when I came here that made me think she preferred you." Shinji nodded understanding, but didn't interrupt her.
• In You Are (Not) At Fault, Misato ends up adopting Shinji formally.

Comic Books

• Dance with the Demons (Batman): Philip Wayne raised his nephew Bruce after Thomas and Martha's deaths (as per Pre-Crisis canon).
  Philip Wayne adjusted his hearing aid a bit and smiled. Bruce was almost 40 now, and he'd darned near given up on getting the whippersnapper married. To him had fallen the task of raising the boy, after his brother Thomas and Thomas's wife Martha had been shot dead in the street those long years ago. He'd never seen a boy so intense and serious as Bruce had been. The boy was either cracking half the books in the library, or doing experiments with his chemistry set, or building up his body, or doing gymnastics. But he'd turned out well, and then some.
• A Force of Four (Power Girl): Superman tried to be a father to his cousin, but Kara couldn't accept a surrogate.
  Power Girl: We both cared about each other. We were both glad that we weren't the only Kryptonians left alive, when we found each other. But he wanted to play Daddy, because he'd never had a child. And I... couldn't do that, Jimmy. I had a daddy, and it wasn't Kal.
• Kara of Rokyn (Supergirl): Kal was like a father to Kara back when she was a just-orphaned teenager.
  Kara: From my fifteenth year on up to... somewhen... Kal was like a parent. Or he thought he was. I’ve told him about this, probably haven’t told you. Sheol, back then I needed a parent, or a big brother, or whatever. I thought my mom and dad were dead, and I hadn’t been adopted. I cried, Nar. Cried a lot. But Kal was always there for me, always buoying me up, always guiding me on a path he thought was best for me.

Film — Animated

• Letting Go Of Hate (The Lion King): Vitani begins turning to her mother-in-law Nala as a mother figure. She had a loveless childhood being raised as a Tyke Bomb in a merciless environment, so Nala's motherly nature resonates with her.
• The Vow (Kung Fu Panda): Lianne comes to hold in her heart Lord Goa and Lady Jing, Shen's kindly parents, like second parents. In particular, she regards Lord Goa a true father her biological father has never been able to be to her.
• Guiding Light (AuroraRose2081):
  • Mirabel unwittingly became like a mother to the younger children at the orphanage, going hungry so that they could eat, doing their laundry, taking punishment for them and nearly sacrificing her life to the horsemen chasing them at the beginning of the story.
  • Dolores ends up developing a close bond with the toddler Elena.
• Two butterflies: gone with the wind.: To the Madrigal's collective surprise, the magic itself recognizes Bruno as Mirabel's father, to the point of moving her portrait on the family tree from Julieta's side to be straight down Bruno's portrait.
• With Mirabel's birth-mother having died giving birth to her in The Seer and His Butterfly, Pepa stepped in to nurse and take care of her when Bruno was too emotionally broken to look after her properly. Ever since, she had taken to calling her "mama", a trend that would continue when Pepa and Félix took her in after Bruno disappeared.
• When Did I Become a Parent?: While Timon has trouble saying it out loud, he and Pumbaa were essentially the ones who raised Simba after Mufasa's death. It's only after Mufasa himself says that he's happy that Timon and Pumbaa stepped in as Simba's parents that Timon realizes he thinks of Simba as his own son.

Film — Live-Action

• Abraxas (Hrodvitnon) (MonsterVerse): Several examples, as listed below.
  • Serizawa was this to Vivienne Graham like in canon's All There in the Manual materials, and she has a severe BSOD after she learns of his death. The Forced Transformation even calls him "father" a few times in both Japanese and Kaiju Talk afterward.
  • Vivienne in turn was this towards Madison while Emma immersed herself in work. Madison sincerely admits a few times, including to Vivienne herself, that she wished Vivienne would've become her mother if things had happened differently, and Mark outright states that Vivienne was more of a mother to Madison than her actual mother managed to be. It's also an apparent Mythology Gag towards one of the author's other fanfictions.
  • Vivienne can be seen as a form of this towards San, in contrast to his more malicious older brothers who were the only kin he knew before bonding to Vivienne as his new sister — he feels little sentiment for Ichi and Ni after being separated from Ghidorah, compared to how Vivienne eventually shows him affection and forms an emotional bond with him.
  • Hinted at with Thor (Titanus þunraz), who experiences a jolt of paternal instinct when answering Vivienne and San's calls, and afterward has no problem with sticking by and mentoring them.
  • Again like In The Manual for Canon, Ash was Like A Son to Jonah. And he died because Jonah didn't think to instead have someone who wasn't dear to him take point at Outpost 32.
  • Mothra apparently considers San and Vivienne her children after the Two Beings, One Body Hybrid's Emergency Transformation. At one point, Vivienne is involuntarily reminded of her human mother when she glances at Mothra.
• Ich Liebe Dich (Back to the Future): Marty tells Doc that back in 1985, he's more of a father figure to him than George is.
• Property Of (Transformers Film Series): When Annabelle Lennox is taken to Cybertron as part of a twisted 'pet trade' set up by a group of Decepticons, she is purchased by Ironhide. While most Cybertronians are unaware that humans are sentient and humans believing that they all know about the trade in full, when Sam and Mikaela (who have been purchased by Bumblebee) are brought to Ironhide's place of residence to try and calm Annabelle, they calm Annabelle by convincing her that Ironhide sees himself as her father figure, with Ironhide becoming fond of 'Softspark' even before he learns that humans are sentient.

Literature

• Deliver Us from Evil Series (Sherlock Holmes): In Mortality, Holmes's parents are never mentioned, so most likely Holmes sees his friend Watson as this.
• Ginny Weasley: Double Life (Harry Potter): Not shown directly, but Milikan's flashbacks reveal that she took on a parental role for one of her past servants while the girl's parents were on holiday and her only guardians were an aunt and uncle who occasionally visited. Milikan's influence compelled the girl to become less of a rebellious brat, lose some weight and be more polite to her parents even after Milikan left.
• it's about the bones: (The Locked Tomb): Gideon repeatedly lampshades that the Saint of Duty is giving Harrow more parental approval in two days than she previously got in her entire life. Pyrrha (who is secretly Sharing a Body with him), in particular, loves Harrow, and takes possession of the body with increasing frequency to train with her.
  "Well done," the Saint of Duty says, still amused, and in that shock of amusement his voice sounds entirely transformed. He sets you on your feet when you give another feeble, bewildered kick, and then - horror of horrors - he sets a broad hand on your head and ruffles your hair.
  "Now do it again."
  By the time you stumble around, shell-shocked and quite frankly traumatized by the first display of parental affection ever inflicted on you in your life, the Saint of Duty has extracted a pair of smoked-glass shades from one of his pockets. With more personality than he's expressed in weeks, he beckons you with a flip of his hand.
  "Bring it, kiddo."
  So you bring it.
• Mudsnake (Harry Potter): Hermione resonates with Snape and the two end up bonding. The story even ends with Snape becoming Hermione's guardian.
• The Raven's Plan (Game of Thrones):
  • Osha became this to Rickon, something Catelyn notes with envy and despair. The first person he asked for upon waking up was not his mother, but Osha. She very clearly returns the love.
  • Davos is this to Shireen. For every decision where we get to see his thought process, the first thing he considers is how this decision will effect her, and his care for her is strong enough to stay his hand from ordering Qyburn's execution after he offers to treat her greyscale scars. For her part, Shireen essentially disowned her father after what he did to her and clearly cares for Davos too.
• What is a promise worth?: Catelyn becomes Jon Snow's guardian after Ned dies from fever so that by the time she has him legitimized and creates his coat-of-arms, there's no question of who Jon's mother is, even after his parentage is revealed. Later on when Daenerys, Stannis, and Jon meet with Edmure, Edmure calls him "nephew" because:
  "My sister calls him son. Her children call him brother. What should I say?"

Live-Action TV

• Consequences And Control (Downton Abbey): Since Kemal Pamuk dies while having sex with Lady Mary Crawley and gets her pregnant out of wedlock, Matthew raises Mary and Kemal's daughter Grace as his own.
• Glee Reprise (Glee): Rachel's trying to be this for Beth following the accident that put Shelby into a coma, but Beth's not having any of it.
• Kamen Rider Ex-Aid: The Abridged Series (Kamen Rider Ex-Aid): Nico makes it very clear that Taiga is this to her, calling him 'dad' and in general attaching herself to him. Episode 11 reveals that she considers Taiga the only family she has, and begs him not to die, least she has to go back to her real parents.
• "Of Finding Innocence" (Castle): While the main focus is Kate Beckett forming a relationship with Richard Castle while she's still an officer and he's writing Derrick Storm, equal importance is given to Kate's developing role as Alexis's second mother figure. While Alexis never forgets that Meredith is her biological mother, Kate is an important maternal influence in Alexis's life when Meredith just 'forgets' to be there for her daughter, with the seven-year-old Alexis eventually calling Kate 'Momma' to distinguish her from Meredith (although by her teens she has settled into calling Kate 'Mom').
• Survivors (Supergirl (2015)): Eliza and Jeremiah Danvers find Kara and baby Kal and become their new parents.
• To Forge an Heir (House of the Dragon): Over the course of years mentoring her, Lyman Beesbury becomes a father figure to Rhaenyra, not least of all due to Viserys' terribly poor parenting meaning he's really the only paternal figure she ever has.
• To Hell and Back (Arrowverse) (Arrowverse): Slade Wilson and Shado Gulong served as this to Oliver Queen, Barry Allen, Kara Zor-El and Kal-El during their time on Lian Yu. When Slade is reunited with the latter years after Shado's death, they return to this dynamic.

Video Games

• Another Chronicle (Xenoblade Chronicles 2) shows that Dromarch has a very parental bond with Nia. He's her most constant companion, treating her with a caring and protective attitude, and she generally turns to him for guidance and emotional support.
• Bait and Switch (STO) (Star Trek Online): Lieutenant Commander Reshek Gaarra's mother died when he was two, and his father was an officer in the Bajoran Militia's local garrison and had to go out on maneuvers a week out of every month. He was raised by his father and his paternal aunt Nefris.
• The Boy Without a Fairy (a darker retelling of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time): Link sees Saria as this due to her being the most involved in raising him as a baby. As the story progresses he begins to see Navi as this too much to her guilt.
• Destiny Intertwined (The Legend of Spyro): Played with. Lynerius serves as Hayze's primary parental figure in Warfang, is responsible for his upbringing, is one of the few adults who are reliably on his side when trouble happens, and is shown to hold genuine affection for him. However, he also explicitly rejects Hayze's attempt at referring to his as his dad, stating that he isn't his parent.
• Fate/Sunny Order (Fate/Grand Order): Dr. Roman tries to be one for Mash. Unfortunately, he has no idea how to be a parent, and none of the male Servants have the best experience at being fathers for him to ask them.
• Instinctively Family (Kingdom Hearts) provides multiple examples:
  • Due to his age in relation to their (apparent) ages, Lea is both the big brother figure and the parental figure for Roxas and Xion.
  • In the second fic, Aqua and Terra seem to be attempting to do the same for Naminé and Kiru (the Riku Replica), along with their canon role as this for Ventus.
  • While Master Ansem was technically Ienzo's guardian when he was a child, it is clear that the other apprentices were also involved in his upbringing prior to becoming Nobodies. Specifically, Vexen/Even specifically shows concern for Ienzo at different points.
• Let's Endless Party!, by SilfofinaDragon (Sengoku Basara): In chapter 2 part 1: Maeda Keiji and Date Masamune and Sanada Yukimura's son Masa's ex-Split Personality Sei, now in a body from a potion brewed by Kyogoku Maria, take in a one month old baby boy who they name after Masa's late boyfriend Oyamada Nobushige.
• Momentary Weakness (Xenoblade Chronicles 3): Played for Laughs. Eunie mentions she was going to ask Gray and Rozana to be her parents, but after hearing about Mio's situation she decides she'll hold out for more.
• Not As Simple As A Happy Ending (Undertale): Gaster acts as a mentor and parental figure to Sans.
• Persona 5 Adult Confidant AU (Persona 5): In an inverse of canon, Futaba is the adoptive mother for Sojiro. While they bicker occasionally, it's clear the two care for each other, enough that Sojiro is against stealing her heart out of fear of her becoming a soulless husk as the previous Palace rulers have.
• The Princess Who Carries the Blood of the Goddess (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild): After Zelda's mother died, she was basically raised by Urbosa, her mother's oldest friend. She certainly did a better job of it than the King. Urbosa was known as the only person who could get away with yelling at the King, and those usually ended with Urbosa accompanying Zelda on long journeys far away from the King. Even before Zelda regains her memories of Urbosa, she is perfectly fluent in Gerudo and feels an instinctive connection with the Gerudo Desert. A scene from Urbosa's point of view has her think of Zelda as "our daughter," implying a more intimate relationship with the Queen than Zelda ever knew about.
• Their Bond (The Legend of Zelda):
  • Zelda's mother died in childbirth. Impa was the closest thing Zelda had to a mother growing up. However, their relationship becomes less platonic and more romantic once Zelda begins to enter adulthood.
  • Link was all-but Adopted into Royalty as Zelda's brother, but he views Zelda's advisor Mikal as his father.
• Undertale (Fan Novelization) (Undertale): Frisk takes to Toriel as a mother-figure, though it takes a while for the child to acknowledge the fact. When Toriel calls to check in after leaving on her own, Frisk says "Bye mom", only to immediately backpedal. Even Frisk isn't entirely sure what prompted that.
• You See Them (Persona 5): Sojiro is one not just for Futaba like in canon, but also for Akira/Ren, often because the latter's parents rejected him after the false accusation. The ghost of Wakaba Isshiki, Futaba's late mother, also takes this role towards Akira as well

Visual Novels

• Fate/Black Dawn (Fate/stay night): Mordred assumes that the strange man who has been hanging around her mother is her father. Shirou doesn't have the heart to correct her, and immediately does everything in his power to be a better parent than Morgan and Arturia (though Arturia doesn't know about Mordred yet, he knows she won't do a very good job once she does know).
• Gensokyo 20XX (Touhou Project):
  • We have this happen with Yukari and Reimu, the former being the latter's wet-nurse. However, this was played for slight drama, as, to be expected, Reimu was bonded to her and wouldn't take anyone else. Tying into that, we had her play this role to Ran, taking her in as a baby, and Maribel and Renko, taking the two in after a nuclear holocaust.
  • Later on, we have Ran and Ren playing with role to Marisa, leading to an instance of Interspecies and Oblivious Adoption. Before that, Ran took in Chen.
  • Foundling (a branch off), Ran and her husband, Ren, reprise this role to Reimu, the titular foundling. Later on, she comes to acknowledge them (along with Yukari) as parental figures.
    Yukari (narrating): Naturally, they became "An" and "En", in much the same vein that a child's parents would become "Haha" and "Chichi", thus to some extent, she acknowledged them as parental figures or something very similar.[...]She sat silent before me, as if in some thought, before she finally opted to place a name for me. "Fukona-ha" was the name for me.

Web Animation

• Children of Remnant (RWBY): Winter reveals that after her mother's death, it was Kali who stepped in to comfort her and help fill the gap that Willow's death left behind. As a result, Winter has complete trust in her abilities and intelligence.
• Linked in Life and Love (RWBY): Roman Torchwick has been taking care of Neo since she was twelve, making sure to teach her how to take care of herself and always sliding her enough jobs that she had money to spare. Eventually, Roman reveals that on their first job, when Neo got caught and he had to bail her out, he told the cops he was her father. She knew that, but what she didn't know was that rather than forging the adoption paperwork, it was faster for him to just fill out real adoption paperwork and then bribe a clerk to backdate it a few years. Which means Neo is legally Neopolitan Rose, cousin to Yang and Ruby.
• A Monster's Marriage (RWBY): Oddly, Juane Arc acts as one to Mercury Black despite only being a couple years older at most. Since Jaune is married to Cinder, Mercury had to interact with him regularly and he eventually realized he wanted someone like Jaune to be his dad, especially after reflecting on how supportive Jaune was of his (fake) breakdancing hobby, even signing him up for a competition and cheering him on. In a later chapter, Mercury distracts Jaune for Cinder by playing catch.
  • To a lesser extent, Jaune is one for Emerald as well, having given her a birthday after learning she didn't know her own.
  • The epilogue further drives it home with Jaune running a clothing store with Mercury named "Arc and Son's".

Western Animation

• Faded Blue (Steven Universe): Blue Pearl acts as Steven's primary caregiver, and while she is as loyal to Steven as she was to Blue Diamond, she is treated more like a mother and friend than a servant.
• Queen of All Oni (Jackie Chan Adventures): Uncle notes that, even if Jackie and Jade aren't aware of it themselves, Jackie loves Jade to the point that he essentially is her parent in every way except blood. Given that Jade herself suffered Parental Neglect so severe it bordered on abuse, she on some level does see Jackie as her true father figure. To the point that the Aspect of her mind known as "Father" looks just like him.
• The Raven & the Owlet (The Owl House): When Eda dies from her curse, Lilith is forced to take care of Eda's surrogate kids, Luz and King. While it takes her a long while to get there, Lilith eventually starts seeing King as her nephew and Luz as her daughter, which Luz reciprocates.
• Shards of a Memory (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012)):
  • Having never really known her own mother, April has come to see Shard as a mother too, even calling her kaasan^translationJapanese for "mother", only addressed to one's mother directly.
  • This also applies to Casey Jones when he discovers that she was the mysterious lady that saved him from a group of bullies when he was younger.
• The Sun Will Come Up And The Seasons Will Change (Infinity Train)
  • It's clear from the start that Reagan was a better maternal figure for Mary than Dana ever was, as she always looks out for her little sister, stands up for her when Dana harasses her, buys her things she likes (manga, hair ribbons, etc), and encourages her hobbies. One of Mary's earliest memories even show Reagan as a little girl feeding baby Mary.
  • Shortly after arriving on the Infinity Train, Mary meets Blanca, who is kind to Mary and becomes a maternal figure for her during her journey on the train. Considering how Blanca admits to being a mother of twenty, it makes sense that she wouldn't want to let a little girl wander the Train all on her own.

Western Animation — My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic

• The Dear Sweetie Belle Continuity: In Dear Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash was raised more or less personally by Firefly, former Wonderbolt and founder of the Cloudsdale Home for Wayward Pegasi, and as far as she's concerned Firefly was her mother.
• The Differentverse: Derpy Hooves is this for Scootaloo, having raised her since she was a year old, though Scoots’ mother does drop in from time to time. Twilight is also this to Spike, whose biological parents are unknown.
• A Diplomatic Visit: Discussed in chapter 15.
  • Rarity admits that she sometimes feels she's more a mother to Sweetie Belle than a sister, and that her own mother feels that Rarity does a better job at raising Sweetie Belle than she does.
  • Scootaloo is mainly raised by her two aunts (whom Rainbow Dash admits are more parents to Scoots than her birth parents), since her actual parents are away doing important scientific work.
• Escape from the Moon: In the sequel The Mare From the Moon, per canon, Twilight is this to Spike, but it’s made more visible as Twilight actually refers to him as her son here, especially when Spliced starts calling her out on her inadvertent stunting of his growth.
• Falling Backwards and its sequel Flying Forwards: Both stories have a rather sad variation on this trope. In it, Rainbow Dash receives brain damage after stunt gone wrong that leaves her mentally regressed to a child and ends up imprinting on Twilight as her mother. With no apparent way to fix her friend available, other than just shipping her off to a mental asylum and feeling guilty over her failure to fully save her friend, Twilight reluctantly takes Rainbow in and plays along with the whole "mommy" thing until a way to cure her can be found. Ultimately no cure is found and with no other options available, Twilight physically regresses her to match her mental state, so she at least has a second chance at life and accepts her new role as Rainbow's mother.
• Motherly Scootaloo: The story has Scootaloo under the care of an earth pony mare named Sandy Hooves, a friend of her mother's before she passed away. While their relationship is very strained, especially from the beginning, they do genuinely love each other.
• My Brave Pony: Starfleet Magic (My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic): The Grand Ruler is this for Lightning Dawn. Not that their relationship has any significance on the overall plot.
• The Nuptialverse: Throughout the story Families, Spike, Scootaloo, and Pinkie Pie all experience a form of this.
  • Spike wrestles with seeing Twilight Sparkle as a mother figure. He's afraid to say it out loud to Twilight but once it's acknowledged openly, Twilight happily accepts Spike's feelings and even formally adopts him.
  • While Rainbow Dash starts out as a Cool Big Sis to Scootaloo as in canon, Rainbow Dash takes her in following Scootaloo's Abusive Parents being arrested. In The Visit, after confronting her biological parents in prison, Scootaloo begins referring to Rainbow Dash as "Mom" and Soarin' as "Dad".
  • Pinkie Pie was essentially disowned by her family following her getting her Cutie Mark. Their rejection of her mark prompted her to run away from home, where she was eventually adopted by the Cakes. Pinkie regards the Cakes as parents as much as she does her biological family.
• The Pieces Lie Where They Fell: Page Turner is a ward of the Great Library and was raised by its matron, the griffon Hush Tone, whom she says is like a mother to her.
• Principal Celestia Hunts the Undead: Celestia basically adopts Sunset the second she realizes that Sunset is homeless. Despite her protests that she's just looking out for a student, she lets her live with her, packs her lunches, and makes sure she is properly punished when she does something wrong. Everyone lampshades it.
  Harshwhinny: [to Dash and Sunset] I am contacting your parents and informing them of the incident.
  Sunset: I don't have any parents.
  Harshwhinny: That is a fiction I see no reason to indulge.
• RainbowDoubleDash's Lunaverse:
  • Trixie and Princess Luna, though unlike Twilight Sparkle and Celestia theirs is more of a parent and rebellious teenager relationship (complete with Trixie beginning the series acting out to get back at Luna). Doesn't mean they don't care about one another though — Luna utterly panics when she thinks Trixie has possibly been killed.
  • The non-continuity fic Nightmares Yet to Come has Thesis and Midnight. Thesis being a child created by magical mishap involving Trixie and Twilight, and she considers them the closest thing she has to mothers, but it's Midnight who is her legal guardian, claiming she is her sister (Thesis being too young to catch on to how much this is blatant BS). That said, it's shown Midnight is involved with the ponies who caused the incident that created Thesis, so her actual relation to the kid could be closer than Trixie or Thesis know.
• Sophistication and Betrayal: The protagonist's boss Pipe Wrench becomes something of a father figure to him. Pipe Wrench's wife similarly becomes something of a mother figure, and both provide advice on how to deal with various personal problems he encounters.
• The Twilight Child: Played with when Princess Celestia admits she sees Twilight as a daughter, and Twilight points out she already has parents, whom she loves dearly. Doesn't mean she isn't touched, though.
• The Witch of the Everfree: Celestia was a parental substitute for Sunset before their fight, but she didn't directly acknowledge it, leading Sunset to become jealous of Cadance for Celestia having officially adopted her. After their reconciliation, Celestia starts actually calling Sunset her daughter.

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